Resilient wearing surface



. 1,632,395 June 14 1927' J. w. FELLows RES ILIENT WEARING SURFACE Filed Jan.1ll 1926 Patented 4June 14, 1927.

' UNITED s'lrvrlzs .PATENT OFFICE!` JOHN WILLIAM FnLLows, or ARLINGTON, ismssacrmsr.'rr'rs,` .assIefNon iro iBos'roN l wovEN nosa a RUBBER co'., or surnames, mnssacnusnrrs, A conronATIoNor MASSACHUSETTS.

RESILIENT WEABING s1IJa;|'ncE.- y y Apnmanonalea 'January l11, 192s. serial No. 80,468.

This invention relates to a, wearing sur.- face for a foundation member capable of use in the construction of pavement, flooring and the like, Aand has for its object to 5 provide a superior wearing 'surface layer for a foundation member, such as a concrete road, a wooden bridge, a floor or like structure designed to be traveled upon and subjected to shocks and blows.

.l To this end, the wearing surface layer is composed of blocks or members of wear-resisting, resilient composition, and connecting members of greater resiliency.

The blocks may and preferably will be l made of rubber composition which is capable of resisting wear, is of limited resiliency, is more or less capable of absorbing blows and shocks and is therefore noiseless.

The connecting members for the blocks are preferably made of pieces of sheet rubber composition strengthened by a reinforcing member, preferably metallic.

The connecting members may be designated the elastic members of the wearing sur` face and co-operate with the blocks or wearing members to connect the latter together to form the wearing surface layer fory the underlying foundation member.

The elastic or resilient connecting memao bers are secured to thefoundation member by fastening devices preferably passing therethrough externally of the individual wearing blocks or members, and said-fastening devices are protected frombeing looscned by shocks or blows upon the wearing members or blocks by the resiliency of the blocks and by the greater resiliency ofthe connecting members. Y Tliese and oth r features ofthe invention will be hereinafter described and particularl pointed out in the claims at the end of t specification.

In the drawing illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 isa plan with a portion broken away illustrating afoundation `member provided with a Wearing surfacer embodying this invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective of one of the wearing blocks 'shown in .1; Fig. 3 isa plan view I0 ofone-of theresilie'nt connecting pieces or members with a portion broken away to show the metallic reinforcement; Fig. 4; -is a sectional detait on the line'- illustrating the A floor, bridge or other structure will not oper- Vner of the block'a's illustrated in Fig. 2, and

.prevented during the normal use' of the manner in which adjacent paving blocks are secured to a wooden foundation member, and Fig. 5 is a view similar to'that shown in Fig. 4, the foundat-ion member being concrete.

Referring to the drawing, a wearing surface embodying the present invention comprises a plurality of individual blocks or members 10 of rubber or other resilient composition of the character referred to.

In accordance with the present invention the blocks 10 are connected together and 65 also to a foundation member 12upon `which the wearing surface layer is to be laid, `insuch manner that jhiblti`wsV and-shocks incident to the normal use of the roadway,

ate to loosen the'fastening devices by which the individual blocks or membersaresecured to the foundation member.V For this purpose the individual blocks 10 are secured to the-foundation member 12 by 15 fastening devices 14 located between adjacent blocks 10 and arranged to co-operate with individual connecting members 15. As" herein shown, the connecting members comprise pieces 15 of rubber or other yieldable composition of greater resiliency than the blocks 10 and are provided with lwire mesh 16 embedded therein to reinforce the same land to form an anchorage which the fastening devices -14 may engage tomore se-f curely fasten the structure of the wearing layer to the foundation member. The individual blocks 'or wear members 10 are preferably mortis'ed at 17 at each corthe connecting members 15 are arranged between" adjacent blocks 10 to extend into .the mortises 17 so asto permit"r fastening' devices 14 when the latter are extended downward through the connecting members v15 and into the foundation member 12, to fasten the blocks 10 with'relation to thefoundation member 12 in: such manner that the loosening of the fasteningv devices will' be roadway because of the yieldable connecting members 15. f

In practice I prefer to form curved p notches 20 at each corner ofthe bloclm or members 10 to the end that when the blocks are laid informing'the wearing surfaces for the. roadway, -floor or other structure, the notches of four adjacent blocks will form a substantially circular opening, 21 in which the fastening device 14, such as a nail, may be inserted and driven through the connecting member 15 by which the adjacent blocks 10 areV connected together at such corner.

After the nail 14 has been driven into the foundation member 12, the upper end of the opening 21 may be closed by cementitious material 23, such as asphalt, which protects the nail from moisture, land provides the wearing layer with a flush upper surface.

In practice, nails are preferably employed where the foundation member 12 is of wood or similar material into which the nai-ls V may be driven. In some instances, it may be desirable to laythe blocks 10 over a concrete foundation member, in which casev I prefer. to embed bolts 24 in the concrete with the threaded ends of the bolts projectminimum effort.

resisting blows and shocks, is durable and noiseless, Aand is composed of individual blocks l0 connected together and yieldably secured to the foundation member by members of greater resiliency,whereby` the usual tendency of the fastening devices to become loose in the blocks incidentto normal travel over the wearing layer is eliminated.

The individual blocks or members '10 and the connecting member 15may be easily and quickly laid, and both fastened to the foundation member in minimum time and with By' providing the resilient block 10 with mortisesm'at the corners thereof as described, the connecting members of greater resiliency arelocated below the upper surface of the wearing member and are not subject to wear by the traic.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what claimed is:

1. The combination with a foundation member, of a plurality of resilient members co-operating to form a wearing layer for the foundation member, resilient members connecting together a plurality of the .members of said wearing layer and provided with a reinforcingmember` and fastening devices extended through said resilient connecting members and said reinforcing member for securing the wearing layer to said foundation member.

2. The combination with a foundation member, of a wearing layer therefor comprising a 4plurality of resilient members cap'able of resisting wear, blows and shocks, and members of greater resiliency connecting said Wearing members, and fastening devices extended through said connecting membersto connect the wearing layer tov said' foundation member.

3. The t combination with ka foundation member, of a plurality of resilient wearing members co-operating -to form a wearing and each provided with mortises in the corners thereof, reinforced connecting pieces extended into said mortises and of greater resiliency than said wearing members, and fastening devices extended through said surface layer for the foundation member connecting pieces between adjacent blocks andinto said foundation member.

4. The combination with a foundation member, of a plurality o'f resilient wearing members (zo-operating to form a Wearing surface layer for the foundation member,

and each provided with mortises in the cor' ncrs thereof and with notched-out 'portions which co-operate when the wearing surface layer 1s laid to form an openmg, resilient v connecting pieces, extended into said mortises, fastening devices extended `through said connecting pieces and through the opening formed by the co-operating notched-out portions, and a Y plug member filling the Yopening above said fasteningr devices.

5. A wearing"A surface of the character described, comprlsing blocks of rubber capable of resisting wear, shocks and blows, and' connecting members for saidl blocks, said connecting members bein of rubber of greater resiliency than said gblocks' and .provided with a metal reinforcement."

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN WILLIAM rELLows. 

